This is very Bad very heavy Orange peel, Gun to far away pressure is also not right list goes on.
I would sand this all down with 600 maybe even 400 yes very course paper! The idea is to remove ALL the Hi areas to get down to the Pits in the Peal so there are no more pits in it NOT to try to dress it out with 2000 its way beyond what can be done with 2000 unless you want to kill your arms and a lot of paper.
Can or could this be saved? Maybe But you still need to get more aggressive with your sanding and even then how much clear would be left for buffing?
If it were me After its blocked flat with 600 with a good hard block I would Respray the Clear.
IT's Very important NOT to sand into Base color! If you do its a whole other process to fix.
Don't worry about Sanding scratch in the Clear, fresh clear will cover it.
Shoot the Clear as you want it to look, Slick and wet. Yes it can Run so Keep moving don't be afraid of Gravity fixing runs is part of the game.
Its a Dance between DAM that looks nice and AH SH!
Another thing Try to only do ONE wet coat on your respray putting down a second heavy wet coat Will result in Runs some where usually always does.
The reason being the first one has sand scratch to hold onto the second coat doesn't!
So the second coat cant be as heavy as the first but still Wet and slick looking, It takes Practice like I said above its a dance. Also you don't need more than two coats.
This image shows heavy Orange peel but not as bad as the hood in the pic above.
No need to use 600 on this but still sand it nice and flat with a hard block and 1200 would be my choice.
Just Curious But in that first Pic whats going on with the Air Scoop why does it look like its still got the old fading peeling clear on it?
I see you didn't remove door handles, door locks, Glass, trim molding's, either before spraying. A lot of work and a lot of money spent on materials to do the job half way.
I have seen very nice jobs done with the Harbor freight Purple gun so I wont blame it although it is known to be an Air hog.
I will however have to ask about your about your Air compressor????
What size is it? how big is the Pump? how many CFM ? How big is the Tank? The Tank size really isn't all that important Pump CFM is.
Are you running air filters? where is you regulator at? are you running water drier? what type? and where is it located at in your system? is it a Desiccant snake or one of those ball type you put on at the base of the Gun? or one that hangs on the wall?
Do you have an air gauge at the base of the gun??? VERY IMPORTANT! if your running those ball type desiccant driers at the base of the gun it should be placed before your air gauge!
Another important fact some of these types of filters have very limited air flow no matter how many PSI you put through it it still wont allow the air gun to work properly! The package should say how much CFM they will flow.
If your compressor is fully charged and you pull your trigger on your Gun How long does it take for the compressor to kick on????????????????? Then how long does it take to shut off? at what pressure is this happening? These settings are adjustable!
Spraying a car Can be done with a small compressor BUT it is not recommended!
If your running out of air you HAVE TO STOP SPRAYING and WAIT for the compressor to catch up!!!!!!
Its my guess that you were running out of air and your compressor couldn't keep up with the demand you were putting on it. While the Gun was still spraying and sounded ok the gun wasn't atomizing the material the same as when you first set it up with compressor fully charged, continuing to run the gun without consistent air pressure results in inconsistent atomization of the material resulting in a type of mess you have now.
Dennis B.
A&P Mechanic, FCC General radio Telephone Operator
Line Maintenance A&P Mechanic and MOC Tech specialist.